Little Wing
Little Wing is the seventh page of Act 2 of Lilly's route Transcript I take the small pile of papers from the student in front of me and pass it backwards after plucking off the top piece. Looking to the top right of the page, I find my fears realized within that small red circle. Forty-three. I hang my head and sigh in resignation. Cursing under my breath, I can feel the aura of a similar sentiment rising from the entire class. It's strange, but that fact lifts my mood by a minuscule amount. Misery loves company, I suppose. As the teacher opens his mouth, the room braces for the inevitable onslaught… …only to be saved at the last minute. We quickly move to collect our bags and leave for lunch post-haste, but the teacher delivers a parting broadside. Teacher "We'll be discussing the class' test scores next lesson. Needless to say, there will be quite some discussion to be had." A collective groan resounds from the class, now reduced to shuffling out dejectedly. I push the sheet into my bag as I walk along the hallway, crumpling it in the process. It's enough that such a troublesome letter ended up on my desk yesterday, and now this. ??? "'''HI—SA—O!'"'' A stern female voice gruffly calls out from behind me. I freeze on the spot, my face becoming like stone. It's as if I can feel my brain disconnecting from my body. My eyes slowly shift right, trying to catch a glimpse of the disembodied voice. …nothing? My face begins to slip as time passes, and I decide to risk turning my head. Ever so slowly, I twist it to the— I jump into the air and drop my bag, yelling out in surprise. As I recover and regain my composure, I turn to see… I should have known. She stands there with a mischievous grin on her face, hands forward and fingers pointed inwards. She was the one who jabbed my ribs with her fingers. I look down at her with a grimace, rubbing my hair in frustration. She pulls her best puppy-dog eyes on me as she pouts. Lilly's managed to build up my resistance to the tactic, but Emi's short stature adds enough to the effect to make me relent. Her modesty never fails to amuse me. Uh oh. Wearing my emotions on my sleeve is one of my worst habits. She's seen right through me. Fortunately, I see somebody else approaching us that will give me an out. I give her a welcoming wave, and try my best at looking like I haven't noticed Emi's pouting face. She gives a small wave back. Without a second word, she forgets all about us and bolts off up the hallway. She must've forgotten she was waiting for her. Hanako and I stand speechless, only able to helplessly stand and watch this ball of seemingly boundless energy dash off. She suddenly stops herself just before vanishing around the corner to the rooftop staircase, spinning around to meet our bemused faces. And with that, she disappears. All I can do is hang my head and give a long sigh, thoroughly left in the dust. As I hear a short giggle coming from behind me, I turn to see Hanako smiling at the corner my attacker rounded. I pick up my dropped bag from the floor and quickly dust it off. She averts her gaze, guilt written onto her face. A casual observer would think she'd just accidentally reminded me of a dead relative. She looks up, though still avoids meeting my eyes. An awkward silence passes. They seem all too common around Hanako. I guess I don't exactly have any pressing engagements to attend to. She gives a skittish reply, a small nod and quickly makes off towards the cafeteria. I guess she must've forgotten to bring lunch today. As I walk through the hallways, more and more students start to come out of classrooms and pass me, going in the same direction as Hanako went. By the time I manage to make it to the stairs, I'm having to push my way past a busily chatting throng of students. I finally manage to get past the last of the crowd and round the staircase, slumping slightly in relief and slowing my pace before I open the door to the roof. I momentarily avert my eyes, all but blinded by the harsh summer sun. ??? "Hmm?" As I slowly regain my vision, the surroundings finally take form. Lilly, Emi and Rin sit together on the rooftop, the top of the hilltop forest around Yamaku visible past the fence around them, as if to frame the view. Lilly and Rin give a quick nod of acknowledgment and a deep nod of greeting respectively. I start walking towards the rather mismatched trio, and can't help marveling at the speed with which Emi devours the rest of her half-eaten banana. I plonk myself down beside Lilly, the four of us creating a semicircle. As I glance around, sure enough, a small yellow butterfly floats across my field of vision. I should've known better than to expect sound reasoning from Rin. Regardless, I guess it wouldn't hurt to play along. I bury my head in my hands as Emi rounds on her strange companion. She doesn't seem to share Rin's sense of humor. Emi and Rin continue their banter as I turn to Lilly, who's busily finishing off her small box of curry and rice with a pair of wooden chopsticks. Emi breaks off from her vain attempts to introduce the concept of logic to Rin. Something tells me it was her idea alone, and that Rin only got dragged up here on Emi's whim. Then again, the same could probably be said of Lilly and Hanako. The creaking of the door to the roof can be heard as soon as she says the words. A moment of silence falls over us as everyone's attention focuses on the figure appearing from it. Hanako slowly walks over to us, her eyes pinned to the ground, silently ruing the attention she's attracting. She tenses, just barely, when her eyes meet Rin's. I can't help raising an eyebrow as she walks over to us and sits next to me, doing her utmost to avoid looking up even as she brings her cafeteria bread to her mouth. Miki Miura… ah, that tanned girl from the front of my class. Considering her height and toned body, being able to beat her is quite an accomplishment. Looking over to Emi, it's very clear she's well aware of this fact as she beams proudly. Ouch. She puffs her cheeks and pouts, but it doesn't take long for her to bounce back. I beam a mischievous grin. She looks and sounds like a small terrier growling at an intruder. I can't say it's the most threatening sight I've seen. Lilly looks slightly deflated, her hopes of imparting her knowledge dashed. Judging from the badly hidden laughter of the rest of us, neither she nor Emi seem to have garnered too much pity. As I sit happily laughing though, I feel my voice suddenly cut off as my chest clenches. I sit in silence for a few seconds, all my concentration forced on my heartbeat. It's only a small pain, but the ache feels like it's growing. Breathe deeply… breathe deeply… I glance upward to try and keep at least some of my attention on my surroundings, to see Emi suddenly freezing when she notices the expression of pain on my face out of the corner of her eye. I look back down and redouble my efforts to try and stay calm, clenching my fists to try and dull the pain. It takes a short time, but the pain, thankfully, begins to fade. When I look back up, there's only silence and pensive faces to be seen. I guess I'd better explain myself. Taking her cue, Hanako quickly picks herself up and begins to dash to the door. As I bring my hand to my forehead, I can feel the beads of sweat gathered on it and dab them off with my cuff. The entire atmosphere's changed from one of gaiety to downcast faces, the situation being too awkward for anyone to know exactly how to react. And of course, the whole thing is thanks to me. It just had to happen now, around others. She looks up, a box of juice halfway to her mouth. Lifting an eyebrow, I inquisitively turn to Lilly. She gives a cheeky grin. No way. All I can do is hang my mouth open in wonder. Considering those tests are insane even for some native speakers, I can only imagine she's gone and done something like committing to mind part of the dictionary. A gift for rote memorization, maybe. Lilly and I grin at Emi's expense, her reaction identical to mine when I'd first tripped on that little landmine. Lilly's foreign ancestry does raise a point, though. Lilly gives a lighthearted giggle, evidently fully expecting Emi's bluntness. The rest of the lunch continues much the same as before, the jauntiness from before my heart flutter thankfully returning in full. As everyone files off with the appropriate farewells, only Lilly and I are left. She packs the last of her things into her bag and clips it shut, before perking her head up slightly. As much as I'd like to sound less morose about it, the letter from yesterday, screwing up a test so badly in class, and now my heart make things very hard indeed. She gives an indulgent smile and nods. I hope she hasn't picked up on it, but knowing her, it's unlikely that she hasn't. Her smiling face collapses, becoming uncomfortably serious. She suddenly cuts herself short, unsure of whether she should say what she intends to. I give a weak smile and rest my hand on her shoulder. For a moment she looks to be lost in thought, carefully pondering how to react. I rummage around in my bag for the leftovers from lunch, eventually finding a paper square from my sandwich's package. My eyebrow raised and my expression rather quizzical, I gently place the square into Lilly's hand. Without another word, she brings her fingers around it to feel out its edges. With both of us seated on the roof, the minutes to the lesson ticking away, she proceeds to lay the item on the ground and begin her work in earnest. Wrapped in silence, I watch her fingers move about on the small square with amazing dexterity. A small fold here, a larger fold there, her fingertips keep a slow but sure pace. Looking up, her expression is calm and placid. The fact her face is pointed well above the sheet in front of her makes the sight of her work all the more curious. Her shoulder slump a bit after finishing one final fold, her work apparently done. It's only when she holds the item up in her hands that I realize what it is. A small origami crane. Light brown thanks to the packaging used, the result looks quite delicate and precise. A little baffled, I carefully take the small bird from her pale cupped hands as if it would break from the slightest breath. It seems to be folded quite well, and holds its shape easily. We both grab our bags and head out the door, Lilly extending her cane as she does so. I hold Lilly's handiwork up to my face for further inspection while we walk down the hallway, her hand running along the silver handrails for orientation. If she taught herself origami to improve her dexterity, with the use of her hands meaning so much to her given her condition… ah, so that's it. I smile as I realize the bird's meaning. “Everyone here has had to find their own ways of dealing with their conditions. You aren't alone here when you have problems.” She gives a sweet smile and a nod, not using words where none need be used, in her typical manner. And with that, we part ways. To be honest, I don't know what annoys me more - the fact that I could die at any moment, or the fact that everyone knows that. I guess I'll just take each day as it comes. As the unexpected present in my hand reminds me, I'm not alone here. Even though I may be like this, I'm not alone. If they worry, if anyone worries, I'll smile. I'll smile enough for all their worries to go away.